Feeling Thai massage

I went to Thailand recently and stayed in Chiang Mai for 3 days, mainly for relax and shopping. Also there was another major activity—chanting with my friends who went there too. But the most impressive activity was the Thai massage that we took.

Massage shops in Chiang Mai has a famous organization called Chiang Mai Women's Correctional Institution. It was built by Naowarat Thanasrisutharat, former Director of Chiang Mai Women’s Prison (2001 – 2008), to help support the lives of newly released inmates in society.

There are two types of shops: first one is opened around 8 am to 4 pm which is quite a short time since the employees are all from Chiang Mai Women’s Prison and they need to go back to prison in the evening; the second one is called Lila massage spa which the employees there are all former inmates, and the shops are more commercial and have a longer working time till 10pm. Lila massage spa has many branches in Chiang Mai and the business is quite good. In the shops, all I feel is comfortable and I even don’t know the background before I search on the Internet. It is a great idea to let inmates and former inmates to gain equal work opportunities without discrimination.

We booked the second type massage from the Internet, and the details of massage service could also be confirmed and payment was finished on line. Normally we need to book one day in advance.

We went to the shop from map guidance and checked in on time. Then we didn’t need to wait. If just dropping by, the waiting time would be very long according to the customer flow. I don’t recommend that.

When we came into the shop, we need to take off our shoes. It was a tremendous experience that socks were not needed there. The floor was a bit cold so we quickly found somewhere to sit. Then we can hold up our feet and they would not feel cold. Walking barely on foot was a special feeling and we could feel the floor more sensitively. At home we don’t have that chance. So in Thailand we enjoyed it and as if we were more down-to-earth.

The massage package we chose was coconut oil massage. A friend and I chose the same one. In the Lila shop also two customers were in a room with two masseuses. It was interesting that my friend and I chanted in Chinese and the two masseuses chanted in Thai. We all chanted happily.

My masseuse could speak English well and the service was quite good. In the beginning, she adjusted the room temperature and brought herb tea for us. At my request, she used light strength so that I felt not too hurt. The first step was using body scrub to remove dead skin. Since my dead skin was a lot, the masseuse played a joke with me by repeating “Sipi” all the time.

Then I took a shower to wash off the dead skin, the oil massage began. The smell of coconut oil was quite nice, a bit feeling like food and not too cloying. My masseuse kept gentle and wow, I felt quite comfortable.

In the middle break, when my friend was taking a shower. My masseuse asked me to do her a favor. “Could you teach me four Chinese words?” “Sure. What do you want to learn?”

She pointed some articles that in the room, like a box of tissue and so on. When I said one word in Chinese, she would write down the pronunciation in Thai just like what we did in learning a foreign language. She told me that every day she would like to remember four Chinese words in order to communicate with Chinese customers better. I thought she was a spanker. No wonder her English was so good. She was that kind of person that loved whatever job one took up.

So the experience in Chiang Mai was quite relaxed and comfortable, especially the Thai massage and the spirit of my masseuse.

前阵子去泰国旅行，在清迈住了三天，主要是在休闲购物，还有和同去的朋友们聊天。而印象最深刻的是我们去尝试的泰式按摩。

清迈的按摩店有一个很有名气的连锁组织，叫清迈女子监狱，是以前的监狱长Naowarat Thanasrisutharat (2001-2008年在职) 创办的，分两种，一种就叫清迈女子监狱，按摩师是监狱服刑的女犯人，每天定时出来给到店里客人按摩，然后再送回监狱，这样店里每天营业的时间就不太长，一般是早八点到晚四点；另一种叫Lila massage spa，是雇佣的服刑期满的女士，店就更商业化一些，营业时间很长，可以到晚上十点，分店也很多。这个理念很好，帮助刑满释放的人获得工作机会，不会被歧视。我是从网上查才得知的这些比较细节的信息，去店里就是很正常很温馨的感觉。

我们预约的店是后一种。从网上可以直接预订，钱都付了，一般可以约第二天的。到现场得排队，而且根据各家分店的客流情况，有可能会等很久，不是很建议。

进店都要脱鞋，在泰国这几天就没穿过袜子，进去之后地面有的还行有的冰冰凉，就赶紧找个地方坐下，抬起脚来。赤着脚走感觉确实不一样，可能平时没有这种机会吧，特别接地气，真正感触地面的质感。

我和一起去旅行的一个舍友挑的都是椰子油按摩套餐，我俩分在同一间房间里，两个女技师同时为我们服务。比较逗的是，按摩的过程中我和我舍友拿中文聊天聊得挺嗨，那两位技师拿泰语聊天聊得也挺嗨。我们互不干扰，工作休闲两不误啊。

给我按摩的这位技师英文说的很好，服务也很周到。首先是给我们调节室温，还准备好花草茶。在我的要求下，她用的力道也比较轻，让我没觉得很疼。第一步是用身体磨砂膏来去死皮。技师可能觉得我这死皮太多了，一直拿中文说“死皮死皮”，让我乐得不行，这也太有执念了吧。

然后洗个澡,把死皮都洗下去。接下来就是精油按摩，椰子油的味道很清淡，有一点点食物的香味，又不腻，技师还是轻轻柔柔的，啊，好享受。

中间休息了几分钟，在等我朋友洗澡出来，这个时候我的按摩师说“你可以帮我一个忙吗？”我“说什么忙呀？” “教我四个中文词可不可以？”“好，这没问题”

她就指四周能看到的东西，比如纸巾盒，就说这个怎么说，我说纸巾，她还拿泰语拼一下音，就像我们学外语标拼音一样。我觉得她是个了不起的人。怪不得英文说的就很好。她就是那种干一行爱一行的人。

感觉旅行中有这么一个按摩放松的环节，真挺舒服的，还有从按摩师身上学到的精神，很棒。这就是在清迈最深刻的一个体会,有机会真的建议来体验一下。

（图片来自lila massage官网，
http://www.chiangmaithaimassage.com/gallery.php?lng=en ）